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Iran could soon extend its burgeoning defence ties with Russia by providing fast attack craft for Russian naval forces to use in the Black Sea.

Iran's Labour Ministry director for social insurance Sajjad Padam was dismissed from his post after saying that the government "may have to sell off Kish and Qeshm islands and even oil assets in Khuzestan" in order to settle the country’s debts with China.

Qatar will hold elections for the Central Municipal Council (CMC) on 22 June. The first election for the council was held in March 1999 and polls have been held every four years since then.

UAE state-owned defence group Edge is to push for defence export orders in Latin America, after announcing it is to open an office in Brazil’s federal capital Brasilia in the near future.

A five-day meeting in Aden concluded with leaders from other factions joining the Southern Transitional Council (STC), prompting warnings from Houthi rebels and others about the growing risk of the secessionist movement gaining ground in Yemen.

Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al-Thani has made another revised bid to buy Manchester United Football Club (MUFC), in an effort to see off a rival approach from United Kingdom-based petrochemicals giant Ineos Group’s boss Jim Ratcliffe.

Saudi Aramco appointed Nasir Al-Naimi as president of its upstream business and Mohammed Al-Qahtani as president of its downstream activities, in a shake-up. Both men will report to group president and chief executive Amin Nasser once they assume their newly-created positions on 1 July.

Revised March 2023, this map illustrates Yemen's oil and gas infrastructure as well as boundaries and the extent of disputed ares.  The locations of oil and gas fields and pipelines are marked alongside associated infrastructure including oil refineries, gas processing plants, tanker terminals and LNG facilities. The map is available as a PDF file using eps graphics, meaning that there is no loss of resolution as the file is enlarged.

There are clear signs of fatigue and apathy among both voters and candidates, as the Kuwaiti electorate and candidates gear up for yet another National Assembly (parliament) election on 6 June. It will be the third national poll in as many years.

The Bahraini government has rowed back on changes to its school curriculum involving Jews and Israel, after criticism from local preachers, Shura Council members and others. While heavily promoted by the government, Bahrain’s normalisation deal with Israel remains deeply controversial among the population. 

Iraq has extended a contract to import Iranian gas by a further five years, following talks in Baghdad between Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani and visiting Iranian oil minister Javad Owji in May.

Bashar Al-Assad's regime in Syria has been readmitted to the Arab League after more than a bloody decade on the sidelines, after Saudi Arabia and the UAE orchestrated a vote in favour ahead of a 19 May summit in Jeddah. Regional opposition to Syria hasn't disappeared, but Qatar and Kuwait decided not to stand in the way of readmission, in a further indication of Riyadh's new-found desire to flex its diplomatic muscles whatever western allies might think.

Stephen Peter Day was a committed Arabist, while also being a guardian of British national interests – positions the diplomat, who has died aged 85, saw as complementary rather than incompatible. His conflicts could be with elements of the British establishment rather than with foreign governments, groups and individuals with whom he engaged with ease.

Moody's Investors Service upgraded Oman's long-term senior unsecured rating from Ba3 to Ba2 while maintaining the positive outlook. The agency said the change reflected the continued reduction in Oman's sovereign debt burden and its improving debt affordability metrics during 2022.

Manama has agreed to establish diplomatic relations with two Pacific Island countries, Samoa and Nauru, in late April and May.